American Grille - Picture of Asians Taking Pictures of Food

I love eating out with foodies. There's a kind of synergy that's hard to describe when you bring together a group of people that are passionate about the same thing. We always talk about food, then eat the food (not before taking pictures first), and then we talk more about food. It's great. 

Mel and Grace from Foodporn Uncut kindly invited me along with Vaneats and Gourmetcetera to come and dine with them at the American Grille in Richmond. They won a gift card and were gracious enough to share the reward. :) Being a Richmondite, I've always driven pass this restaurant but never found a reason to go in. I guess there's a first time for everything!

The Roasted Beet Salad ($13) came with arugula, heirloom tomatoes, olive tapenade, goat cheese, and pomegranate vinaigrette. It wasn't exactly what I imagined but it was a huge portion at least? Needless to say I wasn't super impressed.

I didn't get to try the Seafood Crab Cakes ($14) but it looked alright. It was served with a roasted red pepper and lime aioli.

I should've gotten the Honey Garlic Beef Tips ($15) because it looked soooo yummy. It came with thick cut fries and chimichurri.

 That Duck Breast ($34) looked soooo yummy laying on that bed of avocado and veggies.

Blackened Halibut Pasta ($24)

I ordered the Pan Seared Scallops & Prawns which sounded amazing because it comes with pancetta, squash risotto, honey glazed root vegetables, and pomegranate reductions. However, the pancetta was dry, the risotto was undercooked, and the pomegranate reduction was sweet which kind of made the dish off balance.

Their Oven Roasted Rack of Lamb ($32) is their most popular dish. It's visually impressive and they give you a full rack of lamb! They definitely don't skimp on the meat with this entree.

Danish Baby Back Ribs ($28)

The Seafood Feast Bowl ($26)

You know how some menu names don't accurately depict what actually gets served to you? This was it. It's called Xango Cheesecake ($8) and we actually thought it would be a slice of 'exotic' cheesecake. Instead, it was cheesecake wrapped in a tortilla and deep fried. It was pretty good but just overly creamy.

Now THIS was good. It's called White Chocolate Brownie ($8) and it tasted pretty similar to the Moxie's one.

At the end of the day, American Grille isn't a bad choice for dinner if you are around the area. Their food is tasty but to me (and this is my personal opinion), it was just average at best. Many of their dishes need refinement and for the price of some of them, you might be better off going to the Keg or Moxies.

Service Rating: 3.5/5
Food Rating: 2/5
Price: $$$-$$$$

Overall Rating: 2.5/5

Happy Eating!


              Meh..